He Was Her All (Book 1) [Editing]

Chapter 17: Against Time and Life

Dedicated to janhaviwaikar

Mariana was suddenly pushed to the side as the bullet drove past her. She stopped herself from landing face down on the floor as something warm splattered across her back.

When she turned around, she screamed in horror as she saw Micah stumble backward, clutching his chest.

There was a dark stain painted on his shirt and across his face. When he removed his hand, blood as dark as wine covered his whole palm.

He hissed as he leaned up against a wall. Mariana quickly rushed to his side.

"Micah!" She leaned and propped him up. Micah fidgeted in pain and clenched his fists while sharply sucking in air.

Mariana unbuttoned his shirt and where the bullet hit, a torrent of blood flowed out as his chest heaved up.

"No Micah... no....no...no," she panicked and tried to steady him with her shaky hands.

Micah coughed out blood profusely, his breaths were sharp, and his chest was filled with excruciating pain. Mariana was still bent over him, trying to keep himself awake.

"Someone help!" She screamed amongst the crowd, desperate to get help as quickly as possible.

Leilani and Miguel heard the commotion and ran over to them.

"What happened?!" She exclaimed alarmingly, noticing Micah bleeding on the floor.

"S-Someone from the crowd tried to shoot me but Micah pushed me out of the way and now he's b-b-bleeding," she cried out and cradled Micah's head in her arms.

"Oh no... okay first we need something like a towel to stop the bleeding and then as soon we get onto land, we'll take him to the hospital."

Leilani bent down to Micah's level as Miguel quickly got her a towel. She started to press it hard against his chest. Micah tried to scream but his suffocating airways let out a mere wisp of air that fell on deaf ears.

As Leilani compressed harder, Micah's thoughts wavered over the pain and the cacophony of voices that blurred in his eyes. He heard the rhythm of his life as it began to slowly dim out of existence.

He was at the edge of the abyss, on the brink of life and death, and the thought of never being able to see the sweet sounds of daylight, never being able to embrace his family again and achieve his lifelong dream, all these resulted in a heavy feeling laid on top of his broken chest, a somber downfall like the tear that escaped his eye. He then came to the realization that his young life amounted to nothing. He was brought into this world as nothing and was going to die just the same.

Before the deathly, suffocating darkness that was about to enclose him, he saw Mariana holding his hand against her cheek while weeping over his dying body.

Seeing her cry over him made him realize another thing...

If he doesn't make it, he would never get to see that she's finally safe from Xavier and that someone will not try and kill her. He will never get to see that smile of freedom painted on her face and the hidden fear that she will be captured again.

He will never get to see that...

With that last thought lingering mockingly in his dying state, with the last bit of struggle to stay awake, he fell into a deep sleep.

****

When the boat hit the shores, they called an ambulance and it soon came.